Just Practicing
by knowthescore
Summary: This is what popped into my head after first hearing 'Mine'. Spoilers up till S4E3! Santana is driving home from cheer practice and hears a familiar song on the radio.


**A/N: Just a short little thing that I wrote like, a month ago now. My microsoft word stopped working, isn't that awful? But it's back now, so I thought I would post this because I rather liked it. Obviously takes place before I saw the Break-up episode, so spoilers through S4 Ep3. You gous rock. :)**

**Disclaimer: One time I thought I owned Glee, and it decided to punch me in the face. It was awesome.**

**(Of course, after that, I learned that I don't own the Glee-ness, isn't that sad?)**

* * *

Santana stretched her aching bones at the red light. She couldn't believe how late cheer practices had been running. It was eleven o'clock. Did these people think she didn't have classes in the morning? Christ. Thank God her classes had all been cancelled. It was a rare miracle.

She turned on the radio to the only local station she knew, one of those variety stations. After she totally jammed to the tail end of some kickass Beyoncé song, the radio announcer came on.

"Hey hey hey, insomniacs! We're about to play another hour of non-stop radio for you but first- we wanted to hear from you folks out there! How are you tonight? Are you awake to write some paper you procrastinated on? Holding a boom box outside a girl's window to impress her?" Santana laughed loudly, twiddling her thumbs on the steering wheel.

The host was even chuckling at his joke. "Alright, but seriously- there are only two reasons that you would be willingly up this late. One, you're a slacker. And the other- you've got a lonely heart. So, this next song is for all the soul mates out there."

Santana shifted in her seat. She knew she was supposed to call Brittany around nine, but they didn't have a break all night. She hated not being able to call her girlfriend.

The opening lyrics to 'Mine' by Taylor Swift began floating through the speakers. Santana groaned. This song was so cliché. Of course, that meant that it was one of Brittany's favorites.

About halfway through the song, Santana pulled off into a gas station parking lot to just listen. This song was so them, it was ridiculous.

They had, indeed, met by water. It was kind of a funny story.

Basically, Santana was drowning. And Brittany saved her.

It was the first time they had ever met. Santana was splashing around, trying to impress her friend Quinn with her newly-learned tricks when she went a little too far in the deep end of the pool and slipped right down the underwater slant separating the halves.

Almost instantly, she felt a small pair of arms wrap around her waist and felt the water sucking her down, and the arms pulling her away from the deep blue depths of the pool.

The pair sputtered to the top, the arms calmly dragging a frantic Santana to the pool's edge.

Santana grasped it firmly, turning to see the clear blue eyes and enormous smile of her rescuer and returning one of her own.

"Are you okay?" Brittany had asked after introducing herself.

"Yup, I'm lots better now. Wanna be my best friend?" Santana answered firmly. The rest, as they say, was history.

Santana shook her head to clear the thoughts. The closing chords of 'Mine' were echoing through her head and the car. She gently switched the radio off. She knew what she had to do.

* * *

It had been an hour and a half since she left the gas station with a full tank and an armful of energy drinks and sugary snacks. She would be lying if she said she hadn't been listening to 'Mine' for most of the car drive. It was pouring rain right now, so she had shut off her iPod to pay closer attention to the road in front of her, but her mind subconsciously wandered to a night when she and Brittany were seventeen.

The first year Brittany was allowed to take a friend to her Aunt and Uncle's house for vacation, she jumped at the chance to take Santana. Santana, of course, agreed immediately.

Brittany's Aunt and Uncle's house was right on a river. They owned a boat, and used it quite frequently.

One night, Brittany's parents, her Aunt, Uncle and sister all went on a boat ride, leaving Santana and Brittany behind. The girls didn't mind; preferring to stay at the end of the dock and dance their feet around side to side under the green, glowing water.

They sat there for a long, long while; both very content to sit with each other in silence.

Brittany had been busy making loops out of the blades of grass she pulled before hopping on the dock. Santana was only aware that Brittany had fashioned the blades into a ring for three seconds before it was carefully slid down the fourth finger on her left hand.

"Britt, what on earth?" She asked, chuckling.

"What?" Brittany chortled happily. "I'm just practicing."

She gave her a quick smile and stood up, leaving Santana to ponder what her comment meant.

Santana stared out to the river, tumbling gently. The lights from the house splashed across the surface.

Her eyes widened.

She turned, gasping "Oh, Britt-" and threw a hand to her heart as if she were trying to grab back the breath that Brittany had stolen with her promise. Instead, she was met with Brittany's lips, pressing kisses to her own, confirming that promise over and over.

* * *

Santana was so very grateful to the Pierces at this moment. They had given her a key, telling her that she was "Literally always welcome" and she could "Literally come whenever she felt like it." The Pierces were big fans of the word 'literally'.

She slinked through the house in a well- oiled routine from years of practice- stepping in certain spots on the hardwood floor and skipping the second and thirteenth steps; the ones that always squeaked. She finally reached Brittany's bedroom and saw that she was soundlessly sleeping on one side of her bed. A pang shot through Santana's chest.

She quickly shed her jacket and shoes and donned a pair of Britt's sleep shorts before crawling in next to her girlfriend. Shockingly, Brittany turned to her.

"San?" she called sleepily.

"Yeah, Britt. It's me."

"What- but- you- how?"

"I just- I just had to tell you that- you're the best thing that's ever been mine." Santana said, rolling her eyes at herself.

Brittany blinked a few times, willing the sleep out of her eyes. She smiled and quickly laid her head on Santana's chest, breathing a sigh and a smile into her skin.

"Oh, San. You're the best thing that'll always be mine."

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**A/N Numero Dos: Hooray, end of the story! Told you it was little. :P For those of you who read either Life Full of Riddles or Then You Look at Me, updates are coming; veeeery slowly, but surely. You are all wonderful and if you liked this, please review! **

**Oh, and if you're one of our friends up north, stay safe! **


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